ADHD
by codegirl96
Summary: My eighth grade reseach paper on ADHD. My first K rated story. YAY! And my first one-shot. YAY!


**Yay! My first one-shot(sorta)! This is really just to get rid of my Writer's Block. R&R!**

**This is my eighth grade research paper on ADHD. ADHD is a real desease, in fact I actually have ADHD, so those of you that also do, you're not alone. I don't know if your life has been just as bad as mine, but ADHD has made life very hard. I'm treated differently by everyone and it makes me feel alone, but I still press on, I try to be friends with everyone, even though it doesn't always work out.**

**Maybe you have the symptoms mentioned.**

**Disclaimer: This is my paper I own it all(sorta).**

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**ADHD**

People throughout history have been dealing and struggling with ADHD, people like Leonardo Da Vinci, Tom Cruise, and many others. ADHD is a challenging condition with many types and symptoms and has been studied for over one hundred years; the modern medicine available has a few side effects that are important to understand.

The definition of ADHD itself can be hard to understand. ADHD (Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder) is a condition of the brain in the frontal lobe that makes it difficult to control behavior. Statistics show that 4% to 12% of school-aged children have ADHD. It also shows that 3 times more boys than girls have it too.

There may only be three types of ADHD, but each one has different symptoms. The three types are Inattention, Hyperactivity, and Impulsivity. Inattention ADHD is also known as ADD. A person with inattention may have a **hard time paying attention**, **not listening**, **being easily distracted**, **makes careless mistakes**, **being disorganized**, or **forgeting things**. People with Hyperactivity show **hyperactive behavior**, but can pay attention. Some symptoms of this type are being in constant motion, being unable to stay seated, squirms or fidgets, or** talks to much**. People with Impulsivity show impulsive behavior, and like hyperactivity can also pay attention. Some of its symptoms are **acting and speaking without thinking**, not being able to wait for things, calling out answers befor ea question is finished, and **interrupting others**. It is also not unusual for people to have combined types of ADHD because it's the most common.

Coexisting conditions combined with ADHd can make life pretty difficult. A coexisting condition is a condition a person might have along with ADHD. There are three comman types of coexisting conditions linked to ADHD. They are oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder, mood disorders/ depression, and anxiety disorders. Most children and adults with ADHD have at least one coexisting condition. Oppositional defiant disorder affects up to 35% of people with ADHD. People with oppositional defiant disorder **lose their temper more easily **and may annoy others on purpose. Mood disorders such as depression or bipolar disorder affect about 18% of people. There is usually a family history of thses types of disorders. Also, people with ADHD and a mood disorder may have a higher risk of suicide, especially during **teen** years. A person may need a different type of medication than those normally used. Anxiety disorders affect about 25% of people with ADHD. Furthermore, people with anxiety disorders show extreme feelings of fear, worry, and panic which can make it hard to function. Children with ADHD may have trouble learning skills such as reading or math (thats a complete lie! I have ADHD and math's my best subject, and reading's my forth!), but ADHD is not a learning disability.

Everyone has different thoughts on how ADHd affects the lives of people with it, but how many of those thoughts are true? Most of the many myths and legends of ADHd are quotes centered on children with this disorder, quotes such as "ADHd is caused by poor parental discipline," which is not true. Another one is "He's a handful, or she's a daydremer, but that's normal. They just don't let kids be kids these days." or "Treatment will cure it." Even though most kids at young ages always seem to have extra energy or seem to not pay attention, children with ADHD have even more extreme cases of these problems. Also, treatment will not cure ADHD. In fact there is no specific cure for ADHD (sucks right!). Another misconception is that most people think someone with this disorder is more likely to take drugs. The truth is they're actually less likely too (thank god!), but people with ADHD and a coexisting condition may have a higher risk of doing drugs.

The causes and history of ADHd can be important to those who want to know about ADHD but the thruth is that littl eis known about the history of this disorder. There are only a few known cause of ADHD they are **genetic**, toxins in the environment, head injuryies, prematurity, and prenatal exposue to drugs and alcohol. Some people used to think other things llike eating too much suger, food additives, allergies, and immunization caused ADHD but that's not true. Also, ADHD was first discovered in 1845. The first person to give a description of it was Dr. Heinrich Hoffman. It was also first studied by Sir George F. Still in 1902.

There are in fact many types of medication for ADHd but still none of them can cure it. There are tests for ADHD too, but they aren't 100% accurate either. There is two generic classes of medicatin, their names are stimulant and non-stimulant. Ther are six stimulants, they are Methylphenidate short-acting which needs to be taken every 4 hours, the medicine includes Focalin, **Methylin** (meth? Holy Fuck!), and **Ritalin**. Also, there's Methylphenidate intermediate-acting and Methylphenidate extended -release. Both only need to be taken once a day, in the morning. Their medicine includes Metadate ER, Methylin ER, Ritalin SR, **Concerta**, Daytrana, Focalin XR, Metadate CD, and Ritalin LA. The other three classes are Amphetamine short-acting, Amphetamine intermediate-acting, and Amphetamine extended-release which are the same as the first three. Their midicine includes **Adderall**, Dexedrine, Dextrostat, Dexedrine spansule, and Adderall-XR. There is only one non-stimulant though and that's Atomoxetine, and there's one medicatin listed for it and that's Strattera. Atomoxetine can cause live damage and in rare occasions increase thought of suicide. These medication may be an option for people who have medical conditions such as congenital heart disease as well.

Sadly, ther are quite a few side effects of ADHD medication, some can really affect a person's life, and some are more common than others. The most common side effects of medications are **decreased appetite/weight loss**, **sleep problems**, and **social withdrawal**. Less common side effects are rebound effect (increased activity or a bad mood as the medication wears off) and transient tics (such as Tourettes). Very rare side effects include significant **increase in blood pressure or heart rate**, growth delay, and bizarre behaviors. Also, no one can actually grow out of ADHD, but it may become less noticable as a person get older. ADHD often goes unnoticed until school, where academic performances, and **social relationships** are affected.

Most people don't know it, but there are many celebrities that have ADHD. Most of them are commonly known throughout America they include Olympic gold medalists Michael Phelps, and Cammi Granato. Actors such as Woody Harrelson, Katrina Smirnoff, Ty Pennington, Howie Mandell, Mariette Hartley, Bill Cosby, and Tom Cruise. Athletes like Terry Bradshaw, Chis Kaman, and Hank Kuehne. And historical figures such as Orville and Wiblur Wright, Beethoven, Dexter Scott King, and even Leonardo Da Vinci. From celebrities to normal people, ADHD not only the past and present but the future as well. For people with ADHD college can be especially difficult. Special support serices and accommodations should be considered for college aged students with ADHD.

People throughout history have been dealing and struggling with ADHD, but at least people know something about it.

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**... Reading this makes me realize how much I sucked at writing last year.**

**The things in bold are effects that pertain to me. Seeing these things kinda scare me, actually.**

**Read & Review. I want to know I'm not the only one here with this problem.**


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